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A review by will_foster
Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
What a start to this trilogy. Assassin's Apprentice was one of those books I remember seeing as a child and thinking it might be cool to read, but never got around to because my patience for reading was incredibly low back then.
I'm now both glad and sad I didn't read it then. Much of it would have gone over my head. I don't think I'd have picked up on all the details and nuances, would have probably been disappointed about a considerable lack of assassinating, but Fitz would have been such a consoling, if that is the right word, character to read as an awkward child.
I adored Fitz's journey through childhood, through the machinations of the world he finds himself non-consensually thrown into where horrible people hate him just because he's a child born out of wedlock from a royal figure.
I wanted so much to hug Fitz and tell him everything would be alright to the extent that the highs and lows of his story weighed so much more. He is an unreliable narrator and makes a lot of mistakes, but that makes him all the more human and loveable.
It did take me longer to read than I expected. Robin Hobb is an incredible world-builder, you get to know the main locations inside and out, but I found areas to slow quite considerably and ended up reading less per sitting than I thought I would.
That being said, Fitz, and his awful life, is something I'm now completely attached to. I immediately want to continue this trilogy, and the Realm of the Elderlings series as a whole, if only to read how Fitz keeps getting up again and again after he's knocked down and refuses to the let the world ruin him. He will surely have some happy endings, right?
Also, Burrich is an amazing character. Noble and stern but caring, he is the unsung hero of this novel :)
I'm now both glad and sad I didn't read it then. Much of it would have gone over my head. I don't think I'd have picked up on all the details and nuances, would have probably been disappointed about a considerable lack of assassinating, but Fitz would have been such a consoling, if that is the right word, character to read as an awkward child.
I adored Fitz's journey through childhood, through the machinations of the world he finds himself non-consensually thrown into where horrible people hate him just because he's a child born out of wedlock from a royal figure.
I wanted so much to hug Fitz and tell him everything would be alright to the extent that the highs and lows of his story weighed so much more. He is an unreliable narrator and makes a lot of mistakes, but that makes him all the more human and loveable.
It did take me longer to read than I expected. Robin Hobb is an incredible world-builder, you get to know the main locations inside and out, but I found areas to slow quite considerably and ended up reading less per sitting than I thought I would.
That being said, Fitz, and his awful life, is something I'm now completely attached to. I immediately want to continue this trilogy, and the Realm of the Elderlings series as a whole, if only to read how Fitz keeps getting up again and again after he's knocked down and refuses to the let the world ruin him. He will surely have some happy endings, right?
Also, Burrich is an amazing character. Noble and stern but caring, he is the unsung hero of this novel :)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide attempt
Moderate: Animal death